Vehicle-top.



J. W. RUSSELL.

:v'E'mnLE TOP.

llllll ll ll IIIIII III Patented Dec. 4,1917.

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vEmcuz ma APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 5936- ,m, Patented Dec. 4,19

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JOSEPH w. RUSSELL, or onicaeo, ILLrnoIs.

VEHICLE-TOP.

Toall whom it may) comm:

Be it known that I, Josnr -i wfnnssm, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illi nois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Vehicle- Tops, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to. a top for ve- 'hicles,.such as automobiles and the like, and

is intended primarily for use in conjunction with the ordinary folding top usually provided on suchvehicles. 1 V Among the objects of my invention is the constructionof a supplementary top which is light, easily adjusted, and inexpensive to manufacture; a top which affords protection agalnst the sun without shutting off the VIEW- or fresh a1r;-a top arranged for use upon the vehicle Without interference with the main folding top usually provided; and a top so arranged, constructed, and proportioned as. to occupy but little space when not 1111158,

and to be not unsightlyewhen in use. The

invention consists further in numerous other features of construction and combinations of parts as will more fullyhereinafter ap pear. i. V

In the drawings: 1 j Figure 1 1s a slde elevat on of an automobile body equippedwith the. usual top, the supplementary top of myinvention being shown erected q 1 Fig. 2 1s a vlew similar to Fig. 1, showing i the main topfolded down, and the supplee 35,

mentary top alone in use; Fig. 3 is adetail of vehicle showing both tops folded down;

i Fig. 4 is a section through the main socket of the supplementary top, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; r

Fig. 5 is a detail, partly in section, showing one'of the rear props and thimbles upon which the sockets are mounted; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section'through the thimble shown in Fig. 5

Vehicle tops are ordinarily arranged to cover both front and rear seats of the vehicle body. The entire top must be erected even if only for protection against the heat of the sun, thus .shuttin off considerable of the view, and preventing the free circulation of air beneath the top. Oftentimes the occupant of the front seat will not desire to have the top erected, whereas those in the rear seat will wish otherwise. These various objectionable features are common to nearly all the; rear end of the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented, Dec. 4, 1917.

Application as May 15, 1915. Seria1No. 97,707. I i

vehicle tops. In order to overcome such objections inherent in the use of a main top, I have devised an improved construction which forms the subject matter of the present in- Vention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I have shown in Fig. 1 an automobile body 7 having a drivers seat 8 in proximity of the vehicle. Thistop consists of the usual sockets 13, pivotallymounted upon props 14 and supporting boWs'15over which the covering material 16 is stretched. Drop irons 17 are provided near the rear end of the vehicle to receive thesockets when the top is folded down. L i

The top of the present invention is arranged to lie within and under the top 11 just described, and consists of a main socket 18 pivotally mounted upon the prop 14 adjacent the rear seat, a sleeve 19 being slidingly arranged upon the socket to support forward and rearward supplementary sockets 20 and 21 respectively, each of which is pivotally joined to the sleeve as at 22. The sockets 18, 20 and 21 support bows 23 to which the cov ering material 24 is secured. The sleeve 19 is locked at any desired point of elevation upon the socket 18 by means of a telescoping rod 25, the parts ofwhich may be secured against longitudinal movements by means of a thumb nut 26. This telescoping rod is removably attached to an eye 27 formed upon the sleeve 19, a cotter pin 28, or similar fastening device, being used to prevent its accidental detachment. The other end of the telescoping rod is secured to the drop iron 17 as at 29.. To stretch the covering taut and hold thetwo sockets 20 and 21 apart,

' joints 30 are provided each arranged to break as at 31 (see Fig. 2). It will be understood, of course, that the sockets, props, etc, upon one side of the vehicle are duplicated upon the other, so that description of but one set of parts is necessary.

The socket 18 of my supplementary top figuration, as at 3 1, to be engaged by a wrench or similar instrument. The outer end of the thimble is provided with a threaded stem 35 to which the socket 13 and prop nut 36 may be secured. When arranged in the manner shown in Fig. *5. the socket 18 is pivoted directly upon the prop 14, while the socket 13 'is supported upon the extension bearing provided by the stem 35. Inthis manner both the sockets 18 and 13 are spaced a fixed distance apart, such as to enable the two tops to be folded or unfolded without the sockets of each interfering with the sockets of the other. Close to the lower end of the socket 18 an eye 37 is provided for purposes to be hereinafter explained. "When both tops are folded down, as shown v in F ig; 3, (a portion of the sockets of the main top being broken away for the sake of clearness) the supplementary top will lie wholly within the main top. To fold the supplementary top, the thumb nut 26 is first loosened to permit the telescoping rod 25 to shorten. The pin 28 is then withdrawn so that the rod may be detached from the eye 27, and be transferred to lie within the eye 1 37, as shown in Fig. 8. By this meansthe telescoping rod is securely locked inposition against displacement.

To erect the supplementary top the. telescoping rod is first removed from the eye 37, after which the socket 18 is brought to a vertical position, and the sleeve 19 raised to stretch the covering material taut. The joint 30 is then brought into alinement to hold the sockets 20 and 21 apart. The telescoping rod is then locked within the eye 27 to sustain the socket 18in asubstantially vertical position. A rear curtain 38 may be attached if desired, as shown in Fig. 2, to aiford additional protection. Manifestly the top maybe adjusted to a desired position either forwardly or rearwardly of that shown in Fig. 9., simply by adjusting the length of the rod 25. As the top is light and compact, and the adjusting mechanism is simple, these shifting operations are easily performed. V

The main top whose'sockets lie outside of the sockets of the supplementary top may be erected in the usual manner without interference with the supplementary top. If

necessary, to provide clearance for the erec- I tion of the main top, the supplementary top may be dropped forwardly to a' point'where apparent that the top of my invention is of simple construction, and is readily capable of ad ustments to smt varlous requirements of use. It may be used in conjunction with r the ordinary top and without interference therewith. To mount it in position no changes in the construction of the vehicle body are required,thethimble alone affording the'double tops.

I claim: p

1. The combination with a vehicle body having props secured thereto and sockets mounting requisite for both mounted on the props for supporting a main top, of a second top arranged within the main top and consisting'of'a pair of main sockets carrying a bow therebetween and mounted on the main top props, a sleeve slidingly arranged upon each socket, two pairs of sockets secured to the sleevesyone forwardly and one rearwardlyof the main pair of sockets and obliquely disposed relatively thereto, there being a bow carried by each of the'two latter pair of sockets,-means for holdingthe forward andrearward pair of sockets apart at a fixeddistancawhereby the sleeves are prevented from moving upon the main "sockets, a covering material strctchedacross the bows, and means-for locking the second topin any selected angular position longitudinally of the vehicle body, substantially as described. p

2. The combination with inner and outer vehicle tops and sockets therefor arranged means for'locking'the outer socket in place upon the thimble, substantially as described.

JOSEPH 1V. RUSSELL. Witnesses Errinanr BANKING, 'FnANons M. Fnos'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents 921011,. by addressing the Commissioner offatents,

Washington, D. G. i 

